Cycling:Spain's government should recognise it faces a doping problem in cycling and do more to eradicate it, International Cycling Union (UCI) president Pat McQuaid said as another Spanish cyclist was provisionally suspended for a positive test.
Olympic cross country cycling medallist Margarita Fullana became the fourth Spanish cyclist to be suspended in three days after she returned a positive test for banned blood-booster erythropoietin (EPO).
The UCI announced a provisional ban on Thursday for Tour de France champion Alberto Contador for a positive test for a small quantity of the anabolic agent clenbuterol, a result the rider blamed on food contamination.
On the same day it announced Tour of Spain runner-up Ezequiel Mosquera and team mate David Garcia Da Pena had tested positive for banned substances.
"The government needs to first of all recognise there is a problem and I don't know that they've actually recognised it as a problem," McQuaid said. "Fifty per cent of our... I don't know what the percentage is but a large percentage of our doping cases come from Spain and there doesn't seem to be - so far - the will to tackle that in Spain and that will needs to come from the government down.
"But I hope that they would take note and realise that something needs to be done. Cycling's an important sport in Spain. The sport deserves the support of the government into trying to ensure they can completely clean their act up."
WADA has expressed frustration in the past with Spain's judicial authorities, who have declined to share evidence collected in doping probes with sporting and anti-doping bodies.
WADA, the UCI and the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) asked for access to evidence from Spain's highest-profile doping case, known as Operacion Puerto, but were rebuffed by the courts, who argued that the material could not be released while the legal process was continuing and that doing so might infringe the rights of those implicated in the investigation.